LISTEN: How to Withstand the Hurricanes of Life, Part 3 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 583 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 950 since Jan. 1, 2016 with Daniel Whyte III)

October 28, 2018

Daniel Whyte III

TEXT: Matthew 7:24-29

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

—-

As we approach Billy Graham’s birthday celebration, I want to share something from the evangelist whom God made great regarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He said, “We are stewards of the Gospel. The power to proclaim the greatest news in heaven or on earth was not given to the angels. It was given to redeemed men. This was addressed to humble laymen. Some think that only ministers are to preach, but that is wrong. Every Christian is to be a witness; every follower of Christ is to preach the Gospel.”

Charles Spurgeon said, “I would not give much for your religion unless it can be seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.”

In our last message we talked about the importance of not only hearing, but doing, Jesus’s words. It is those who do what the Bible commands and obey what Jesus taught who will have a life founded on solid rock able to withstand the hurricanes that will inevitably come. In churches around the world, we have many, many hearers. And, we think that we have done well if we attend church, listen to the preacher, nod in agreement, say “amen,” and go home feeling smug and self-confident. But if the words we hear never translate into our actions, then we will be toppled over at the first strong wind.

In his effort to wake up the church of his day, the philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard took Jesus’ parable and made one of his own. He wrote, “It was Sunday morning, and all the ducks dutifully came to church, waddling through the doors and down the aisle into their pews where they comfortably squatted. When all were well-settled, and the hymns were sung, the duck minister waddled to his pulpit, opened the scriptures and read: ‘Ducks! You have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can escape the confinement of pens and fences; you can know the utter euphoria of unfettered freedom! Use your wings!’ It was a marvelous, elevating duck scripture, and thus all the ducks quacked their assent with a hearty ‘Amen!’—and then they plopped down from their pews and still WADDLED home!”

Isn’t that how many of us behave. We hear wonderful, challenging, inspirational things in Scripture, but we go about our daily lives the same way we’ve always done. And we wonder why we cannot withstand the hurricanes of life. The two men in Jesus’ parable, for all obvious intents and purposes, could be interchangeable. They were hit by the same storm, which indicates they had built their houses in the same general location. It’s likely that they attended the same church and had the same level of biblical knowledge. They went to the same small groups and fellowshipped with the same people. The outward circumstances of their lives appeared to be the same. But, when the storm came — whether that storm was temptation, a family crisis, a loss of material goods, financial, physical, or mental hardship — the house of one man stood while the house of the other suffered a great fall.

What was important in both of the houses was not what you could see. It was not the paint job or the wide verandah. It was not the ornate shutters or the stately Greek columns. It was the hidden part of the house — the foundation. The foundation represented the inner spiritual life of each man. One man had dug down deep into the bedrock and built his life on an active faith, a life of obedience to the Word of God. The other man had not bothered to solidify his house in a similar manner; he was more concerned with outward appearances. And when the first real test came along, his house, the superficial spiritual life he had built came crashing down.

John H. Sammis wrote:

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

——-

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.

He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.